Hailing from the small town of Charlemagne, Québec, Céline Dion has become one of the all-time greatest singers. Céline was born in 1968, the youngest of 14 children. Early in childhood, she sang with her siblings in a small club owned by her parents. From these early experiences, Céline gained the know-how to performing live. At the age of 12, Dion composed a song in her native French and sent it to a record company, where it garnered the attention of René Angélil, a respected manager. Angélil believed in Céline so much that he actually mortgaged his house in order to finance her debut album. Already very popular and successful internationally, Céline burst onto the U.S. stage when she recorded the theme song to Disney's hit Beauty and the Beast. The song garnered a Grammy and an Oscar, and from this point Céline has brought forth hit after hit. Her 'Falling Into You' album, released in 1996, became the best-selling album of that year, selling more than 25 million copies worldwide. In 1999, Dion took a hiatus in order to begin a family. She returned to the spotlight in 2002, releasing yet another hit album. Starting in 2003, Céline began a three-year commitment to perform in an arena built for her in Las Vegas.
1998: Honored by two governments in two days: on April 30 her home province of Wuebec awarded her the Ordre National du Québec, and on 1 May, she became an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her husband is her manager. Born to Adhémar Dion and his wife Thérèse Tanguay, she is the youngest of 14 children. Renewed wedding vows with husband René Angelil at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, NV. (5 January 2000). 25 January 2001: Son René-Charles Angelil born. Father is husband René Angelil. Because of her "sharp-looking" smile, Celine was known as "Vampire Queen" in high school. She and her siblings sit on the board of Fondation Achille-Tanguay, an organization/clearinghouse founded by her mother which helps poor Québec families toward self-sufficiency. September 2001: Appeared at the benefit concert "A Tribute To Heroes" singing the song "God Bless America" in dedication to the families, friends, victims and heroes of the World Trade Center tragedy. She first met her future husband René Angelil when she was 12 and he was 38. She is three months younger than her step-son, Patrick Angélil. She has her own magazine, Celine Dion Magazine. She endorses a line of eyewear sold in Canada and Europe. 23 February 2001: Awarded the rights to the Internet domain name www.celinedion.com by the UN World Intellectual Property Organization from "cybersquatter" Jeff Burgar. Burgar had also registered www.juliebrown.com and www.brucespringsteen.com, which were transferred to Julie Brown and Bruce Springsteen, respectively, that day. She has homes in Las Vegas and in Laval & Terrebonne, (located in the Province of Quebec), Canada. She loves to play golf. She has over 500 pairs of shoes. Building a home in Las Vegas, NV, where in March of 2003, she will begin giving 200 performances a year for three years in a special theater built for her by Caesars Palace; she will be paid $100 million for this deal. Her husband René Angelil is of Syrian descent, just as her paternal grandmother was. Husband mortgaged his house to fund Celine's first album when she was an unknown 12-year-old. 25 June 2003: She received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario. Has won five Grammy Awards since 1992 including "Album of The Year" in 1996 for "Falling Into You" and "Record Of The Year" for "My Heart Will Go On". 2006: Estimated to have sold 220 million albums during her career to date. Has her own brand of perfume called "Celine Dion: Parfum". Her lucky charm is a 1968 Canadian nickel because she found one in Japan before she went on stage to sing at the Yamaha song contest, which she won. She and Madonna share the same French-Canadian heritage through a common ancestor, Zacharie Cloutier. 1988: She won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland, for Switzerland, with the song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" ("Don't Leave Without Me"). The TV broadcast of the contest was watched by 600 million viewers throughout Europe and the Middle East. Born on the same day as former Baywatch Hawaii star Donna D'Errico. Was in talks to star alongside Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Runaway Bride. Her niece Karine died in her arms. She owns the golf club Le Mirage in Terrebonne near Montreal. She sings frequently in English and in French, but she has also sang in Spanish, German and Japanese. November 30th 2003: She performed the same night her father died and dedicated the show to him. Has a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling the most French-language album of all time for "D'eux" ("The French Album"), with over 6.4 million copies sold. The album also went to #1 in England. Americans consider her 1987 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson appearance, when Leno filled in for Carson and her black-and-white video remix of Michael Jackson's "Bad" her best, early English speaking performances. Although considering herself not a political person, she tearfully criticized U.S. President George W. Bush regarding the Iraq War and his slow response in aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina when she appeared on Larry King Live. Has promoted the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since 1982, whose National Celebrity Patron she became in 1993. In tradition with memorial-based videos as Natalie Cole with her father and Aaliyah with Marvin Gaye, released on Elvis Presley's 72nd birthday a digital duet of herself with him from one of his 1970s TV performances. Her favorite songs are "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "The Show Must Go On" by Queen, "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" by Elton John, "Me And Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin, "Why?" by Annie Lennox, "It Was A Very Good Year" by Frank Sinatra, "Home" by 'Michael Buble', "Purple Rain" by Prince, "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder and "Riders On The Storm" by The Doors. (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years"). Celine played her last show at the Caesar's Palace on December 15, 2007, she received 11 standing ovations. The first was before she even finished her first song. In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings at $45 million for the year. Her sister Linda lives with her, her husband René and son René-Charles. (2007). Recorded a duet with Barbra Streisand titled "Tell Him".